Judith Fierstein is a Research Geologist at the California Volcano Observatory
Science and Products
Database for the Geologic Map of Three Sisters Volcanic Cluster, Cascade Range, Oregon
A database of geologic map of Three Sisters Volcanic Cluster as described in the original abstract: The geologic map represents part of a late Quaternary volcanic field within which scores of eruptions have taken place over the last 50,000 years, some as recently as ~1,500 years ago. No rocks of early Pleistocene (or greater) age crop out within the map area, although volcanic and derivative sedi
Trachyandesite of Kennedy Table, its vent complex, and post−9.3 Ma uplift of the central Sierra Nevada
Tectonic interpretation of the central Sierra Nevada—whether the crest of the Sierra Nevada (California, USA) was uplifted in the late Cenozoic or whether the range has undergone continuous down-wearing since the Late Cretaceous—is controversial, since there is no obvious tectonic explanation for renewed uplift. The strongest direct evidence for late Cenozoic uplift of the central Sierra Nevada co
No ring fracture in Mono Basin, California
In Mono Basin, California, USA, a near-circular ring fracture 12 km in diameter was proposed by R.W. Kistler in 1966 to have originated as the protoclastic margin of the Cretaceous Aeolian Buttes pluton, to have been reactivated in the middle Pleistocene, and to have influenced the arcuate trend of the chain of 30 young (62−0.7 ka) rhyolite domes called the Mono Craters. In view of the frequency a
Frequency of volcanic eruptions in the Mammoth Lakes Sierra
Geologists recognize lavas and ash deposits from about 60 past eruptions in the area around Mammoth Mountain and Devils Postpile, California. This raises the unanswerable question, “When will it erupt again?” An alternative, answerable, and informative question is, “How often has it erupted?”In the Mammoth Lakes Sierra, geologists have mapped in great detail all the lavas and ash deposits produced
Monogenetic origin of Ubehebe Crater maar volcano, Death Valley, California: Paleomagnetic and stratigraphic evidence
Paleomagnetic data for samples collected from outcrops of basaltic spatter at the Ubehebe Crater cluster, Death Valley National Park, California, record a single direction of remanent magnetization indicating that these materials were emplaced during a short duration, monogenetic eruption sequence ~ 2100 years ago. This conclusion is supported by geochemical data encompassing a narrow range of oxi
The timing of compositionally-zoned magma reservoirs and mafic 'priming' weeks before the 1912 Novarupta-Katmai rhyolite eruption
The June 6, 1912 eruption of more than 13 km3 of dense rock equivalent (DRE) magma at Novarupta vent, Alaska was the largest of the 20th century. It ejected >7 km3 of rhyolite, ~1.3 km3 of andesite and ~4.6 km3 of dacite. Early ideas about the origin of pyroclastic flows and magmatic differentiation (e.g., compositional zonation of reservoirs) were shaped by this eruption. Despite being well studi
Dynamics of a large, restless, rhyolitic magma system at Laguna del Maule, southern Andes, Chile
Explosive eruptions of large-volume rhyolitic magma systems are common in the geologic record and pose a major potential threat to society. Unlike other natural hazards, such as earthquakes and tsunamis, a large rhyolitic volcano may provide warning signs long before a caldera-forming eruption occurs. Yet, these signs—and what they imply about magma-crust dynamics—are not well known. This is becau
Mammoth Mountain and its mafic periphery—A late Quaternary volcanic field in eastern California
The trachydacite complex of Mammoth Mountain and an array of contemporaneous mafic volcanoes in its periphery together form a discrete late Pleistocene magmatic system that is thermally and compositionally independent of the adjacent subalkaline Long Valley system (California, USA). The Mammoth system first erupted ca. 230 ka, last erupted ca. 8 ka, and remains restless and potentially active. Mag
Eruptive history of Mount Katmai, Alaska
Mount Katmai has long been recognized for its caldera collapse during the great pyroclastic eruption of 1912 (which vented 10 km away at Novarupta in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes), but little has previously been reported about the geology of the remote ice-clad stratovolcano itself. Over several seasons, we reconnoitered all parts of the edifice and sampled most of the lava flows exposed on i
Blue Mountain and The Gas Rocks: Rear-Arc Dome Clusters on the Alaska Peninsula
Behind the single-file chain of stratovolcanoes on the Alaska Peninsula, independent rear-arc vents for mafic magmas are uncommon, and for silicic magmas rarer still. We report here the characteristics, compositions, and ages of two andesite-dacite dome clusters and of several nearby basaltic units, all near Becharof Lake and 15 to 20 km behind the volcanic front. Blue Mountain consists of 13 dome
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
- Data
Database for the Geologic Map of Three Sisters Volcanic Cluster, Cascade Range, Oregon
A database of geologic map of Three Sisters Volcanic Cluster as described in the original abstract: The geologic map represents part of a late Quaternary volcanic field within which scores of eruptions have taken place over the last 50,000 years, some as recently as ~1,500 years ago. No rocks of early Pleistocene (or greater) age crop out within the map area, although volcanic and derivative sedi - Maps
- Publications
Trachyandesite of Kennedy Table, its vent complex, and post−9.3 Ma uplift of the central Sierra Nevada
Tectonic interpretation of the central Sierra Nevada—whether the crest of the Sierra Nevada (California, USA) was uplifted in the late Cenozoic or whether the range has undergone continuous down-wearing since the Late Cretaceous—is controversial, since there is no obvious tectonic explanation for renewed uplift. The strongest direct evidence for late Cenozoic uplift of the central Sierra Nevada coNo ring fracture in Mono Basin, California
In Mono Basin, California, USA, a near-circular ring fracture 12 km in diameter was proposed by R.W. Kistler in 1966 to have originated as the protoclastic margin of the Cretaceous Aeolian Buttes pluton, to have been reactivated in the middle Pleistocene, and to have influenced the arcuate trend of the chain of 30 young (62−0.7 ka) rhyolite domes called the Mono Craters. In view of the frequency aFrequency of volcanic eruptions in the Mammoth Lakes Sierra
Geologists recognize lavas and ash deposits from about 60 past eruptions in the area around Mammoth Mountain and Devils Postpile, California. This raises the unanswerable question, “When will it erupt again?” An alternative, answerable, and informative question is, “How often has it erupted?”In the Mammoth Lakes Sierra, geologists have mapped in great detail all the lavas and ash deposits producedMonogenetic origin of Ubehebe Crater maar volcano, Death Valley, California: Paleomagnetic and stratigraphic evidence
Paleomagnetic data for samples collected from outcrops of basaltic spatter at the Ubehebe Crater cluster, Death Valley National Park, California, record a single direction of remanent magnetization indicating that these materials were emplaced during a short duration, monogenetic eruption sequence ~ 2100 years ago. This conclusion is supported by geochemical data encompassing a narrow range of oxiThe timing of compositionally-zoned magma reservoirs and mafic 'priming' weeks before the 1912 Novarupta-Katmai rhyolite eruption
The June 6, 1912 eruption of more than 13 km3 of dense rock equivalent (DRE) magma at Novarupta vent, Alaska was the largest of the 20th century. It ejected >7 km3 of rhyolite, ~1.3 km3 of andesite and ~4.6 km3 of dacite. Early ideas about the origin of pyroclastic flows and magmatic differentiation (e.g., compositional zonation of reservoirs) were shaped by this eruption. Despite being well studiDynamics of a large, restless, rhyolitic magma system at Laguna del Maule, southern Andes, Chile
Explosive eruptions of large-volume rhyolitic magma systems are common in the geologic record and pose a major potential threat to society. Unlike other natural hazards, such as earthquakes and tsunamis, a large rhyolitic volcano may provide warning signs long before a caldera-forming eruption occurs. Yet, these signs—and what they imply about magma-crust dynamics—are not well known. This is becauMammoth Mountain and its mafic periphery—A late Quaternary volcanic field in eastern California
The trachydacite complex of Mammoth Mountain and an array of contemporaneous mafic volcanoes in its periphery together form a discrete late Pleistocene magmatic system that is thermally and compositionally independent of the adjacent subalkaline Long Valley system (California, USA). The Mammoth system first erupted ca. 230 ka, last erupted ca. 8 ka, and remains restless and potentially active. MagEruptive history of Mount Katmai, Alaska
Mount Katmai has long been recognized for its caldera collapse during the great pyroclastic eruption of 1912 (which vented 10 km away at Novarupta in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes), but little has previously been reported about the geology of the remote ice-clad stratovolcano itself. Over several seasons, we reconnoitered all parts of the edifice and sampled most of the lava flows exposed on iBlue Mountain and The Gas Rocks: Rear-Arc Dome Clusters on the Alaska Peninsula
Behind the single-file chain of stratovolcanoes on the Alaska Peninsula, independent rear-arc vents for mafic magmas are uncommon, and for silicic magmas rarer still. We report here the characteristics, compositions, and ages of two andesite-dacite dome clusters and of several nearby basaltic units, all near Becharof Lake and 15 to 20 km behind the volcanic front. Blue Mountain consists of 13 domeNon-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.